Archives for December 2016

Another brand new Bang & Olufsen headphone has now been released to the world it is the H9 under their “B&O Play” brand, a bluetooth and active noise cancelling model, with a new condition price of $500 in two color schemes at amazon.com and other retailers.

As of 1/4/17 recheck, this sold out: On the other hand, if you prefer used, there are already some units available in “Used – Like New” condition (original packaging) for $424~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals in either color scheme.

This has dropped further down in price, the AKG K518 limited edition in a black/fuschia color-scheme are down to $20 with free shipping by NewEgg actual. These are on the fragile end, and best for small and medium size heads, but not bad as consumer-bassy options – considering the price.

As of 1/4/17, this is sold out: Speaking of this price range, the Philips Fidelio F1/27 on-ears continue to go for $25 with free shipping NewEgg actual.

Time heals wounds in relationship advice, and time discounts headphones in shopping advice. The recently released Bowers & Wilkins P9 headphones with a $900 starting price are currently available in “Used – Good” condition for $674~ by Amazon Warehouse Deals actual. “Better” conditions go for $715+.

Massdrop action again, the xDuoo TA-01 DAC/Amp is fully unlocked for $130 plus $9~ shipping with six days to go in the offer (ends around 1/6/17), with a direct shipment from MD at the very end of January 2017. This has a little tube on top (12AU7).

Another AKG closed-back option with a reasonable price, the closed-back over-ear new condition AKG K545 are on sale for $90 plus $5 flat shipping, in your choice of black or white color-schemes at Woot Sellout. Limit up to three per customer. The sale ends by Sunday at 1am ET. Per the listing, they come with a 1-year AKG warranty.

This sale ended – as of 1/2/17, the price increased to $125. The lowest used price remains around $75… The closed-back version of the Sennheiser HD598, aptly named “HD598 CS” is back at its Black Friday price of $100 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of up to three per customer… Sennheiser also released a boatload of new 2016 models at around IFA 2016, but those are not discounted yet…

Another one of the “late 2016” Beats headphones is getting discounted. It is the black color-scheme of the bluetooth earphones that go by the “Beats Powerbeats3” name, or “Powerbeats3” in-sort, on sale for $150 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon itself with a limit of up to three units per customer. This is not a lightning deal, so the price is market-driven. Their starting price was $200.

PS: already, both the Beats 3 and Beats EP on-ears got discounted as low as $220 and $85 respectively (from what I have seen at authorized/reputable dealers).

The offer is back on once again, the closed-back over-ear AKG K553 PRO is offered at members-only (but free to join) Massdrop for $120 with free shipping and a mid-January 2017 shipping estimate. The offer runs for the next eight days (from blog posting date). This is a recurring offer, so if you miss it, it will likely return many times and more.

If you are a fan of free 2-day Prime delivery, the new Limited Edition Koss Portapros are now available for $60 with free 2-day Prime-shipping (for Prime members) at Amazon. The seller is Koss’s Amazon store with the order fulfilled by Amazon. They are available in the Rhythm beige or the more colorful Rhythm Bee (official name is “Black Gold”).

Unlike the original PortaPro, these have a mic and a volume slider on the cable. See gallery pictures #1 and #4 over there.

Speaking of Portapros, the 6-pack of replacement cushions goes for $3.54 with a limit of three sets per customer but it is an Add-On item, so you must needs place a $25+ order to buy them.

If you are looking for a desktop (AC powered) combo headphone amp and DAC with multiple I/O options, the Monoprice 11567 is back on sale again, going for $70 with free shipping at the Monoprice website. Free shipping is a plus since Monoprice doesn’t frequently offer free shipping.

There are a few reviews out for this along with a PDF user guide on their website (it’s a 2-pager, not a full manual). It has USB and RCA inputs, 1/4″ headphone-out, along with RCA Pre-Out and Line-Level out. There is no coax or optical input. There is a two-position gain switch. The power button is the volume knob turned all the way to the left. It has a very bright blue light, so electrical tape may be needed 🙂

Among the latest eBay deals you can get the manufacturer-refurbished Jaybird X2 bluetooth earphones for $70 with free shipping, with a limit of three units per customer by eBay seller “Digital Outlet” (99.3%, Northern California). This is the “Sport Midnight” color scheme. The listing described in detail everything that is included in the repackaged non-retail box.

This daily deal expired… They may or may not scare away Treble Vampires, but they can provide padding for your headphones. The Beyerdynamic EDT990V Headphone Ear Pads (Silver) are on sale for $27~ at Amazon by Amazon actual as a lightning deal good until 7:55pm ET. They are 20% claimed as of 4:20pm ET, so they are unlikely to sell out before their expiration time.

The closed-back on-ear Beats EP headphones are currently on sale for $85 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual, with a limit of three per color per customer. Four different color schemes are available. These were a late 2016 model, part of the first wave of Beats headphones under the Apple Empire.

This combination of Apple and Beats creates an internal struggle for purist audiophiles who are also Apple fanatics. More on that on the next Dr Drew show 🙂

Another offering is now fully unlocked at Massdrop, it is the Topping D30 DAC going for $100 plus $8~ flat shipping. The offer is running for the next seven days (from blog-posting date; give or take), and it is expected to ship in late January 2017. This is a DAC only, with three inputs (USB, coax, optical) and one output (RCA).

The second generation of the semi-open over-ear Beyerdynamic T1 headphones are on sale for $788 [was $799] with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of up to three units per customer. A couple of other recognizable sellers have them for the same price at Amazon.

Sometimes cutesy round buttons can make your product stand out in a sea of options. Which brings us to the new condition Chord Mojo DAC/amp, offered for $529 with free shipping by various sellers at amazon.com including a handful of recognizable authorized USA dealers (Gramophone, Sonix, Audio46, FatWyre, etc). It averages 4.5 out of 5 based on 40 customer reviews there.

I don’t know if this is a new feature, or I just now noticed it, but Sonix Electronix has an option on some headphones (a subset of their inventory) where you can make an offer on a product by entering your preferred price in a box. Here’s a screenshot of how it looks when you press the yellow “Make Offer” button on one of the Westone IEMs:

The buttonless charcoal color scheme of the Bose SoundSport earphones is on sale for $65 with free shipping by an unauthorized dealer with a very generic name “uShopMall” through NewEggFlash (NewEggFlash really needs to clarify their listings – you have to do detective work to find out who the seller is, eg add item to shopping cart, or look at the return policy).

If you don’t mind the extra risk, you get a bigger discount, but if you prefer to buy from authorized dealers, it goes for $85 with free shipping at B&H Photo and $90 with free shipping at Adorama.

In a galaxy not so far away, the closed-back on-ear officially licensed Star Wars headphones, based on SMS Audio (50 Cent) designs, are currently available for $40 in the Stormtrooper color scheme – you can’t complain if the frequency response curve misses its target 😉 – and $45 in the Galactic Empire or Boba Fett designs. These are the first generation models.

They are sold by various sellers that are fulfilled by Amazon, so you get the usual free 2-day Prime shipping. They come with various goodies, a zippered football-shaped case, along with a poster and other Star Wars related paper-y things.

If you can wait until mid-January for shipment, Massdrop is offering the new condition closed-back wood on-ear Thinksound ON2 for $130 plus $8~ flat shipping. The offer runs for the next five days (until the end of this calendar year). They have detachable cable (two are included), 50 ohm impedance, and come with a 2-year warranty from the manufacturer (Thinksound).

The Massdrop x HiFiMAN RE-00 in-ears are back again at Massdrop going for $35 with free shipping. They offer runs until the end of the year (literally, 12/31/16), but purchases will begin shipping in late January 2017, so patience is an earful virtue 🙂

Meanwhile two of the three versions of the RE-400 continue to sell for $49 (the buttonless, and the Android; the iOS is Apple-taxed at $59).

The new condition Sennheiser IE60 in-ears are currently on sale for $153~ with free shipping at Adorama.com and also at Amazon.com (limit 3). It looks like a price-match. It is not a daily/lightning deal.

Back to eBay, where the official Jabra eBay store is offering manufacturer refurbished Jabra Rox bluetooth earbuds for $24 with free shipping with a limit of five units per customer. They come with a 180-day warranty (translates to almost half a year).